Venue: Huish Park
Tuesday, October 26 2021, 7.45pm kick-off.
Conditions: The lightest of drizzle
Ground: Damp but zippy
Scorers: Wakefield 4 (1-0), Knowles 48 (2-0)
Attendance: 2,024 (117 away fans)
Referee: Elliott Swallow
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Barnett 54, Quigley, 65, Gorman 75, Robinson 77
Woking: None.
Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)
Grant Smith
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Josh Staunton, Jack Robinson
Matt Worthington, Dale Gorman, Jordan Barnett
Tom Knowles Adi Yussuf Charlie Wakefield
Substitutes: Joe Quigley (for Yussuf, 62), Ben Seymour (for Knowles, 85), Jordan Dyer (for Worthington, 89), Toby Stephens, Max Evans.
Woking: Ross, Casey, Champion, Diarra, Nwabuokei (for Allarakhia, 61), Effiong, Kretzschmar (for Thompson-Sommers, 74), Johnson, Campbell, Block (for Lofthouse, 61), Ince.
Substitutes: Smith, Loza.
Match Report
A first goal of the season for Tom Knowles put the gloss on a much-improved Yeovil Town performance to pick up their second win at Huish Park over Woking on a drizzly Tuesday night.
A strike from Charlie Wakefield had put the Glovers in front after just four minutes and the three points ended an eight-game run without a victory inside 90 minutes.
It also moved us up one place in the National League table to 14th, six points off the relegation zone and eight points off the play-off places after eleven matches.
Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll responded to a long run without a victory by dropping top-scorer Joe Quigley and bringing Adi Yussuf in to a front three, flanked by Wakefield and Knowles.
And having told his side they needed to “come out all guns blazing” after the 2-0 defeat at Grimsby Town at the weekend, Sarll’s men made an attacking start.
So much so that Yussuf had the ball in the net after just two minutes. He rounded the keeper after stealing an extra few inches on the Woking back line and slotted the ball home, only to be denied by the flag which was up early.
No more than a few moments later though, it was Tom Knowles who worked himself into crossing space down the left-hand side.
Charlie WAKEFIELD stole a yard on his marker, took a touch and crashed his shot high into the roof of the net to open the scoring. That’ll do.
It was nearly even better a moment later as Wakefield tried to turn provider, but his cross-come-shot was blocked.
I couldn’t help but think that if the next 83 minutes were as frantic as the first seven, I’d not be moaning.
It wasn’t long before Marcus Duncomb was worried about where his nearest off licence (heck, make it a cash and carry!) was, as Dale Gorman fizzed in his first long range effort of the evening after 12 minutes. But the tequila would be left on ice for now as the 35-yard effort sailed over the bar.
He must have heard my tequila offer… @gloverscast #ytfc https://t.co/Ze8T8z6ruG
— Marcus Duncomb (@MarcusDuncomb) October 26, 2021
His second attempt at getting small glass of Mexico’s finest wasn’t too far behind, but this time just skipping wide of the left post.
As the half wore on, quick breaks and set pieces were still plentiful for the Glovers.
Half chances for both Yussuf and Dan Moss came and went without testing Craig Ross in the visitors’ goal, but Jordan Barnett did force a decent stop at a tight angle.
The play was there, the finish was not… but we’ve heard that before.
The half began to die out with some scrappy decisions breaking up play.
Still, ahead at the interval and another chance to put a side to bed beckons in the next 45 minutes.
Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Woking 0
The second half started just like the first one ended, namely a Gorman shot from distance… oh yeah… and a goal – but not from the Northern Irishman. Marcus, rest easy for now.
The goal was copy and paste from the first, just flip the players around. Wakefield drove a ball across the six-yard line which just screamed ‘bury me’… and you haven’t got invite Tom KNOWLES twice.
There were ‘scenes’, ‘limbs’ and even the odd ‘flame emoji’ in the home end. Don’t tell me I can’t fall in love with footballers. Knowles has found his swag again… and it was wonderful.
What followed was Woking’s first stint of sustained pressure, no more than ten minutes and, as the clock ticked over an hour, Grant Smith hadn’t made a meaningful save.
Crosses rained it, free kicks whipped around him, but all, for now, dealt with by those around him.
A double substitution followed for the Cards as they sought to capitalise on this shred of momentum.
Yeovil responded with Yussuf coming off for top-scorer Joe Quigley.
The Tanzanian had worked hard for his hour, but without much in the way of match-defining razzmatazz .
The game was becoming scrappy, Woking knew how to kill the speed and flow of Yeovil’s game.
As frustrations grew, Glovers’ assistant Terry Skiverton found his way into the referee’s note book.
On the pitch, the Glovers were crying out for some control in the middle of the park. The game was in a lull, in need of a spark.
The home side on the verge in shutting up shop and taking what they’d earned.
A chorus of ‘We want Priestnall out‘ rung through the Thatchers Stand, reminding us that the future of our club still means as much (more?) than what is happening on it.
Further more free kicks won by not so genuine means littered the pitch as Woking knew their only way back in would be if their hosts lost their heads.
80 mins had now passed.
We’re Yeovil going to test their defensive resolve by sitting back or were they going to ease the nerves of those in the stands by continuing to press, hurry and give Woking the troubles they had not had any answers to as yet?
Josh Staunton and Max Hunt headed everything within sight, the full backs hooked another stray ball clear, but by now Quigley was the furthest man forward, no more than ‘Dale Gorman fancies a tequila’ distance from his own goal.
There was always a break away, but each one slightly more laboured than the last as the legs tired.
Each one often halted by Woking player hitting the deck at the slightest whiff of a chasing Glover.
Knowles was taken off with five to go, maybe to protect himself from the trigger happy ref.
86 minutes on the clock, Glovers’ fans will know all to well by now, the nerves are still around.
As the attendance was read out, and the announcement of five additional minutes, a rendition of ‘Allez allez allez’ broke out to help see the boys over the line.
A late debut for Jordan Dyer killed a a few more seconds, Grant Smith made his first meaningful save of the game as Woking continued to huff and puff (but not blow the house down – where have we heard that?) in the final few moments.
In truth it was comfortable, at times fairly pedestrian, the Glovers 2-0 winners with maybe, a little left in the tank.
? GET IN THERE!#YTFC ? pic.twitter.com/2ZDav0B2AT
— Yeovil Town F.C. (@YTFC) October 26, 2021